Saints Slam Dodge for 20th Win
KSCB News - October 6, 2015 12:53 pm
It was a swift and efficient drilling for the Seward County Lady Saints Monday night on the road in Dodge City as the gals in green put it on the home Conquistadors 3-0 in just 58 minutes to earn their 20th win of the season and set up an epic Wednesday night showdown in the Greenhouse with rival Hutchinson.
Seward got off to a spectacular start in Dodge Monday, getting three kills from Viviane Viana and another from Megan Sharratt in the first four points to push the Lady Saints out to a 4-0 lead. The Lady Saints continued to run, extending their advantage to 10-2 later on in the set on a kill in the middle from Belissa Guidotti. Dodge showed their first signs of life midway through the set, trimming the Lady Saint lead to 11-8, but a 5-1 run behind two more kills from Viana quickly cushioned the Lady Saints lead back to 16-9. A big block from Sharratt and Kaysie Paxton followed by three straight kills from the pair made it 22-11 and the Lady Saints closed the Conqs out in the first on a Dodge attack into the net to take it 25-13. Dodge could do little to slow the Lady Saints down in the first as Seward hit .452 with 15 kills and just one error in the period. The Conqs on the other hand managed just five kills and had six errors to hit -.029 in the set.
The second followed much the same script as the first for Seward. Paxton and Sharratt combined for a block to start the set and helped the Lady Saints push out to an 8-5 lead. Dodge again kept things close through the middle of the set, but another big Seward run put the set away. With the count 14-10 in favor of Seward, the Lady Saints rolled off six straight points, getting a pair of kills from Paxton and a block from Alex Wood and Guidotti to blow the score open to 20-10. A solo block from Wood and two kills from Mesa pushed the Lady Saints closer to the finish line and a pair of Conq hitting mistakes finished Dodge City off in the second 25-13 once again.
In the third it was an early run for the gals in green that led them to victory. Seward and Dodge went back and forth through the first eight points to the tune of a 4-4 tie. It was 6-5 moments later after the team traded a trio of errors when the Lady Saints caught fire. Seward scored the next nine points, getting five straight kills from four different players at one point in time to open up their lead to 13-5. Seward gave the ball back to Dodge on a service error, but the Conqs didn’t keep the ball long as the Lady Saints sided out on their next opportunity and went on another big run, this one eight straight to make it a 21-6 Seward lead. With nothing but the final score left in question, the Lady Saints finished off the Conqs with an ace from Jade Piper to put the bow on top of a 25-9 third set win to sweep the match 3-0. In the third Seward had 14 kills on 23 attacks to hit .391 while Dodge City managed just two kills and hit in the negative for the third straight set.
Viana and Mesa led the Lady Saints offensive attack in the win, combining for 21 kills without a single error for Seward. Viana had 11 of those kills on just 13 swings, good for a sparkling .846 hitting percentage. Viana also led the Lady Saints with a match high 14 digs, good for her third career double-double. Piper led Seward with 18 assists while Wood, Guidotti, and Sharratt each had three blocks for Seward.
It took just 58 minutes for Seward to earn the 3-0 victory to propel them to 20-9 on the season. More importantly though, the Lady Saints win their eighth straight Jayhawk West match to not only improve to 9-1 in league action on the season, but with a Hutchinson loss to Colby Monday night in the Community Building, Seward takes over sole possession of first place for the time being in the conference standings. Dodge City continues a rough 2015, falling to 3-21 overall and 1-8 in Jayhawk action.
Next up is a date that Seward fans have had circled on their calendar for a while as Hutchinson comes to town on Wednesday in a battle for first place in the Jayhawk West standings. The Lady Saints and Lady Dragons will get underway at 6:30 and Pizza Hut has sponsored the match as "Pack the House Night", offering every Seward County student in attendance by game time, a reach into the Pizza Hut grab bag with a chance to win free pizzas, lunch buffets, cheese bread, and more. There will also be free t-shirts, Saints merchandise and more thrown out during the match.
SEWARD COUNTY/DODGE CITY BOX SCORE<http:
With a huge Jayhawk West battle for first place looming Wednesday night at 6:30 in the Greenhouse between Seward County and Hutchinson, Pizza Hut has stepped up to the plate, sponsoring "Pack the House Night". There will be 30 free t-shirts, as well as other Saints merchandise thrown out during the match. Every Seward County student to arrive in the Greenhouse before the start of the match will have a chance to reach in the Pizza Hut ‘grab bag’ with free coupons for Pizza Hut ranging from free pizzas to free buffets, and more.
As always, admission is free to the match so make plans to be in the Greenhouse Wednesday night at 6:30 and help "Pack the House" as the Lady Saints take on Hutchinson.